SandRidge Energy Inc. is reaping the dividends of its decision to eschew natural gas in favor of crude oil.

The Oklahoma City-based company has completed its transformation to oil producer, a move CEO Tom Ward believes has put SandRidge in position to nearly double its annual earnings on the way to tripling its stock price.

SandRidge's potential is clear from this year's Oklahoma Inc. rankings. SandRidge was the state's seventh-best publicly traded company in 2011-2012, according to the rankings, but its 2,000 percent increase in earnings per share were by far the best in Oklahoma.

Ward maintains the company's success is due to its move to drill more oil wells, beginning in 2008.

That was about the time natural gas prices to drop, increasing the disparity in its value compared with crude oil.

“With oil prices at 30 to 1 (over) natural gas, where historically we've been 6 to 1, that just drives the bottom line, which ultimately is earnings,” Ward said.

He said SandRidge is well positioned to continue boosting its oil production.

The company began its move away from natural gas by buying acreage in west Texas' Permian Basin.

Ward said the Permian remains an important asset for SandRidge, but its holdings in the emerging Mississippian oil play are the key to its future.

“We think that will be the hallmark of the company over the next couple of decades,” he said. “That will be our growth area.”